Candidate Profile: James Daniel

BRADENTON – James Daniel, a local CPA, will seek the Manatee County School Board District 4 seat in August’s election. It is a four-way, non-partisan race. If no candidate gets a majority of votes, the top two will head into a November runoff.

Daniel is a Florida native who moved to Manatee County from Orlando in 1982. He is a CPA with extensive audit experience in both the private and public sector. Daniel’s wife is a teacher in the district.

Daniel said that his reason for running boiled down to one word: disgust.

"The District has had a one mill property tax approved for the next four years," said Daniel. "The superintendent leaves June 30 and the interim appointee will be hesitant to make significant decisions regarding these funds. There is no plan in action at the board level for the additional funds beyond raises for teachers, and we’ll be in year three (of the four year tax) before anyone has a clue what’s going on. All the board appears to do is fight amongst themselves.“

Daniel says he’s the candidate with the best skills and experience to help the district move forward.

"As a CPA married to one of Manatee’s teachers, I have followed the School District of Manatee County and the decision making demonstrated by the board for many years,“ said Daniel. "As I contemplated the potential for the scenario above, I looked at the District 4 candidates and did not see anyone with the leadership skills, the experience or the personality to change the outcome.“

Daniel described himself as a servant leader and again pointed to relevant experience that he feels would give him an edge.

"As an auditor I worked on engagements ranging from non-profits barely large enough to require an audit to insurance companies’ Florida Medicaid programs with billions of dollars in revenues,“ said Daniel. "My 25 years of experience auditing governmental units in Florida provides me a unique understanding of school district finances that none of the other candidates possess.

"The professional experience I bring also includes time performing as the CFO for a tomato packer in Palmetto where I learned the importance of getting things done on time or lose the entire crop,“ Daniel continued.“The payroll experience I gained in the tomato industry paying 3,000 employees per week served me well as Business Director of a rapidly growing church. One of the first things I did there was change the payroll provider to properly account for the 21 pastors on the staff. This is another unique experience the other candidates can’t provide.“

Daniel said that if elected, he would focus stopping the infighting among board members, selecting the right superintendent to lead the district into the future and bringing more fiscal discipline and transparency to the district.